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REVIEWS, NOTES, NEWS.

Dastur-i- Ushshaq, "The book of lovers": The allegorical romance of Princes Husn (Beauty) and Prince Dil (Heart) by Muhammad Yahya ibn Sibak, known a Fattahi of Nishapur. In Persian, edited by R. S. Greenshields.

Messrs. Luzac and Co. beg to point out that an "errata slip" has bee: issued in connection with the above work. Those who have this book may have this slip gratis on application.

St. Petersburg Koran Facsimile. The copy of the Qoran which belonged t the Public Library in St. Petersburg was acquired in Samarkand in 18 by the first Russian Governor General of Turkestan, General Kaufmann. A cording to the tradition it was brought as a present from Asia Minor to the great Turkestan saint Khoja Ahrar (born in 1403 A.D.) by one of the latter's disciples. More probable is the version according to which the Qoran was brought to Turkestan by the famous conqueror Tamerlane. The copy is said to have been written by the hand of the khalif Othman (third successor of the prophet Muhammad). A complete paleographic study of the copy wil be found in an article by A. F. Schebounine in the "Zapiski Vostochnago Otdeleniya" (Imp. Russian Archeological Society), 1891, V, pages 69-133. T author thinks that the present copy was written not later than in the second century of the Hijra (732-832 A.D.). The St. Petersburg Qoran is a highh valuable document for the study of the early Arabic graphic system.

After the revolution of 1917 the Moslems living in Russia (in virtue of the principle of self-determination) claimed the Qoran, which was handed over të them and taken by them to Turkestan. On the way the sacred book diappeared and no one knows where it is now.

The more value must be attached to the copy (exact facsimile) which was made of the St. Petersburg Qoran under the auspices of the Archæological Institute of St. Petersburg (as is certified by its director's signature: Profesor N. Petrovsky, May 26, 1904.)

The copy bears the title in Russian and French:

"Coran coufique de Samarcand écrit d'après la tradition de la propre main du troisième calife Osman (644-65) qui se trouve dans la bibliothèque Impériale Publique de St. Pétersbourg. Edition faite avec l'autorisation de l'Institut Archéologique de St. Pétersbourg par S. Pissaref.

St. Pétersbourg. 1905. (Facsimile).”

The copy is beautifully printed and reproduces in original colours all the vignettes inserted in the text. The Qoran has three hundred and fifty-three folios measuring fifty-nine by sixty-nine centimetres, and weighs eighteen kilograms. The bound copy is in an excellent state of preservation.

The verso of the title page bears: "printed 50 copies of which only 2 will be on sale at the price of 500 roubles per copy."

Price £100.

In his "Etudes sur le Zoroastrisme de la Perse antique" Dr. Arthur Christensen has given us a series of researches on the Avesta which are of considerable interest and importance. They fall into two divisions, the first comprising criti cal studies on the later Avesta and the second a short review of Zoroastrianism and Zervanism. The general chronological conclusion of the first section is

that Yt. 10, 13 and 19 are either earlier than the Achaemenids or belong to the first years of their period, that Yt. 5, 17, 8, 14, 9-11, 57, and paragraphs 6-37 of 15 are of the Achaemenid age, probably the fourth century, that the Vendidād and Yt. 9 are of the Arsacid period, and that Yt. 16 is either of the Arsacid epoch or still later. The data on which these conclusions are based are partly the facts of the language of the Avesta and partly its legendary matter, and they are handled with skill and erudition. The chapter on Zervanism brings together the chief sources of information on that curious system of theology, and argues-in our opinion conclusively-that "it was not a passing current in the history of Mazdaeanism, but constitutes one of the primitive elements of the Zoroastrian faith," which was subsequently rejected for various reasons, and especially because it tended to encourage a dangerous fatalism. It is however to be wished that Dr. Christensen would leave Professor Andreas's method of transliterating Avestic words alone.

The illustrated review, "Nederlandsch Indië Oud & Nieuw," in its issue for July, 1928 (13e Jaargang, Afl. 3) contains a sketch by Dr. R. Broersma, of the history of the Batavian Society of Arts and Sciences, which celebrated its one hundred and fiftieth anniversary on April 24, 1928. Of special interest to students of primitive technology will be an article by B. M. Goslings on the method of weaving practised in the Tanimbar Islands (also known as Timor Laut) near New Guinea, of which the first part appears in this issue. The rest of the review is devoted to two notices by H. Blok Wybrandi and H. de Groot respectively, on the life and activities of the noted engineer, J. A. Stoop, first in Java in connection with the oil industry and afterwards in relation to a technical school at Dortdrecht. All these articles are accompanied by good illustrat ions.

Sir E. A. Wallis Budge. "A History of Ethiopia, Nubia and Abyssinia." Two volumes. The lands south of Egypt proper fall into a class particularly irritating to anyone but the specialist; they are among the lands whose history is neither known nor unknown, their geographical extent is vaguely understood but never exactly determined, a general acquaintance with the facts is commonly presupposed, but nowhere easily accessible. It is the aim of these volumes to give a general account of what is known from Egyptian sources of the kingdoms of Napata and Meroe, of the classical accounts of "Ethiopia," and of the introduction of Christianity, together with a detailed survey of what is known of the Abyssinians and their history. Such a book fulfils a long felt want which those who have been harassed by inquirers after scattered materials will readily appreciate.

The sections that form the prelude will be as welcome to those unfamiliar with the Egyptian evidence as the main body of the work, the full account of the medieval and modern periods, is to those who know little of this strange story. This mountain people, composed of the most heterogeneous elements from Southern Arabia, the Nile valley and Central Africa, were always on the fringe of great civilisations, ready to absorb all that might come to them, but distorting and deranging in the course of absorption. Their architecture, their religion, their literature-all is derived, yet all is distinctive and peculiar; and for the full account given in this book the general reader and the searcher for references will be grateful. The nature of the materials used has led to the greatest, the almost insuperable, difficulty for both the writer and the reader, the convenient arrangement of the material; but the conscientious who have read the book carefully through will find no difficulty in understanding the method followed. The paraphrased accounts of the Ethiopic chronicles

are particularly useful, in that those who do not read the language can themselves form some idea of the nature and value of these documents. The unfriendly critic will certainly form a most unfavourable opinion of Ethiopie historians. One of the worst documents in this respect seems to us to be the "History of the Galla," translated at the end of the second volume. The geography is thoroughly confused, and the writer stands self-convicted of several major inaccuracies. Even more unfortunate is the worthlessness of the kinglists, which the author has demonstrated at length from the numerous inconsistent modern versions available.

But the matter of these Ethiopic histories is nore admirable than the texts. It is impossible to withhold a tribute of admiration from the leaders who continually saved their land from foreign invasion or internal discords, even though most of them were cruel, overbearing, and often unwise. The story told is a heroic one, and one is glad to meet Claudius and many another in these pages.

A word of praise is due to the excellent and important illustrations, and to the printing and format of this work, which is likely to remain the stan dard work for many years.

A. Kammerer. "Essai sur l'histoire antique d'Abyssinie. Le royaume d'Aksum et ses voisins d'Arabie et de Méroé." While ancient Abyssinia never even at the height of its power attained a high degree of civilisation. its country, history and language have exercised a great attraction for scholars and explorers. The Abyssinians present a striking example of arrested intellectual development. They must certainly have possessed a high ability to have evolved so expressive a language as Ethiopic. More important still is their development of a system of vocalisation, which at once lifts the language upon a higher plane than the other Semitic languages, Alone of all the Semitic nations, the Abyssinians recognised the importance of including the vowel signs in their written language. Having thus perfected their medium of expression, one is surprised to find that they made no adequate use of it. For Ethiopic literature is in the main about the dullest and most uninspired stuff imaginable. Lack of effective contact with the more civilised countries, and perhaps the paralysing effect of a crude and superstitious form of Christianity may have contributed to the degeneration of the Abyssinian mind.

M. Kammerer's book is an attractive and well-documented essay on the history of the ancient kingdom of Axum. From about the first century B.C. to the seventh century of our era, the kingdom of Axum held sway over Abys sinia. It waged successful wars against Méroé and Southern Arabia. It reached and occupied the Upper Nile. It came into contact with the Greek civilisation. It possessed at least one fine city and many imposing buildings. It had its hour of glory before it sank into obscurity.

M. Kammerer devotes a considerable amount of the book to the inscriptions in Greek and Ethiopic found on the stela and obelisks in Axum and Adulis. These inscriptions, though not numerous, are of the greatest importance for the reconstruction of the shadowy history of Axum.

A series of valuable maps, plans and photographs increase our debt to the author.

Campaigns in Palestine from Alexander," by Israel Abrahams. British Academy London. [Schweich Lectures.] Palestine-even : more than Belgium, its modern analogue-has been the cockpit of nations. Its smal! territory has been riven and scarred, its inhabitants massacred or enslaved. almost continuously for more than two thousand years, its hills have re-echoed

unceasingly to the tramp of armies. "Terrible as an army with banners " was no mere literary phrase, but wrung out of the bitter and heart-rending experience of many generations.

This volume, one of the last fruits of a many-sided scholar and inspiring teacher, appears posthumously, with a preface by Dr. Stanley Cook, who pays a just and moving tribute to his late colleague. Though not a military writer, Dr. Abrahams handles his subject with freshness and independence. He is not content to follow slavishly the views of his predecessors and contemporaries. To take an example, the author is inclined to accept the substance of the Jewish account of Alexander's entry into Jerusalem, in spite of the scepticism of modern scholars. In connection with the same alleged incident he makes a shrewd defence of Josephus, whose accuracy has often been imputed on trivial grounds.

The author passes in review most of the campaigns in Palestine, from Alexander the Great up to modern times, concluding his survey with the brilliant campaign of Lord Allenby, the greatest and most successful of all the campaigns.

It is to be hoped that Palestine will now settle down to a long period of peace, internal as well as external. To ensure this, a continuance of the British administration will certainly be necessary for many a year to come. If the British rule can achieve a real and lasting peace between the Jew and the Arab and between the pious Jew and his Zionist compatriot, it will count as one of its greatest triumphs. It would be tragic indeed if Palestine were to become another Ireland.

Professor Johs. Pedersen's “Israel: Its Life and Culture," I-II, first appeared in Danish in 1920. It is now published in a very competent English translation made by Mrs. Aslaug Möller, with the close co-operation of the author. The work well deserved translating, for while the author does not propound any startlingly novel theories, he gives us a sober and stimulating account of the life and culture of ancient Israel. The author is scholarly in his presentation of his subject, and usually if not always gives his authority for any new interpretations, eschewing the wild theories of Wellhausen and his satellites, and following rather the sober path of Kittel and his school.

Professor Pedersen is particularly good in his opening chapter, which deals with Canaan before the immigration of the Israelites. In a few pages he sums up skilfully and accurately the results of archæological discoveries in Palestine. It may truly be said that barely the surface has been scratched in Palestine, and a rich field of exploration awaits the excavator and archæologist. Under the administration of the British Government a new stimulus has been given to excavation in Palestine. Already much has been discovered even since the appearance of this book-notably the prehistoric skull found by Mr. Petre in Galilee, and the discoveries made by Professor Petrie's expedition in Beth Phelet, to say nothing of the excavations in Beth Shaan by an American expedition. Very gratifying is the news of the magnificent gift made to the Museum of Antiquities in Jerusalem by Mr. Rockefeiler, which will not only provide for a new building in which the collections will be adequately housed, but will also allow for a very handsome endowment fund.

Another valuable chapter in the book is that in which the author compares the Jewish code with the Assyrian and the lately deciphered Hittite laws. The Israelites no doubt borrowed much from their powerful neighbours, but where they borrowed they humanised and invested with a moral consciousness lacking in their prototypes. That is why the Jews were able to produce an Isaiah or Amos, while we look in vain for any parallel evolution in the other Semitic nations.